Louisiana House Panel Votes to Ban Holiday Masks for Sex Offenders

BATON ROUGE, La. – A House committee has approved a proposal to prohibit sex offenders from wearing masks to hide their identity at Halloween and other times.

The bill by state Sen. Nick Gautreaux, a Democrat from Meaux, would also apply to Mardi Gras, Christmas and other holidays. Convicted sex offenders caught hiding their identities with masks would face up to three years in prison.

The House criminal justice committee approved the bill without objection.

Gautreaux postponed a vote on another bill that would require certain sex offenders to undergo chemical castration. He said he would return that bill to committee later.